Keynotes

Gerry’s writing career began at the University of Notre Dame as a staff writer and producer for the Keenan Revue, an infamous campus comedy revue.

In 1995 Gerry joined BBDO/NY and quickly rose to creative director on the Snickers account. His work was honored as Campaign of the Year by Adweek and Commercial of the Year by AdAge.

In 1998, Gerry joined Goodby, Silverstein and Partners. Gerry was named one of the Most Influential People in the Internet Economy by Industry Standard Magazine for his work on E*Trade. The E*Trade commercial “Monkey” has since been named one of the Top 5 Super Bowl Ads of All Time by USA Today. Adage will go on to name three of Gerry’s commercials to their list of the 20 Best Super Bowl Ads of All Time.

In 2001, Gerry returned to BBDO as their youngest Executive Creative Director. After 9/11, Mayor Giuliani named Gerry to his marketing team to bring tourism back to NYC. This was without a doubt Gerry’s proudest moment as an advertising executive.

In 2004, Gerry was asked to run the New York office of TBWA/Chiat/Day. In 2006, AdAge named Gerry one of the 50 “biggest and best thinkers and doers from 20 years of advertising and consumer culture”. He would go on to be named to their annual list of the “50 most influential and creative thinkers” in 2008, 2009, and 2013. In 2007, AdAge named Gerry the Most Awarded Creative Director in the World.

In 2008, Gerry was named Chief Creative Officer of Saatchi & Saatchi NY. In 2009, Gerry’s work on JC Penney was awarded the World Retail Award for Best Digital Retail Advertising. Gerry also helped win General Mills its first ever Gold Lion at Cannes.

Gerry launched his own agency, Barton F. Graf 9000, in 2010. The agency was named Top Agency To Watch by AdAge in 2011 and named to the AdAge Agency A-List in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, Barton was named Midsized Agency of the Year by the 4A’s and the 5th most innovative Advertising Agency by Fast Company magazine.

Gerry is also a member of the Facebook Creative Council. Business Insider named him The Most Creative Man In Advertising. Newsweek magazine featured him in a story on the New Don Drapers. And PBS featured the agency as an example of the new, innovative shops in the documentary “The Real Mad Men of Madison Ave.” Barton is now the fastest growing independent agency in America.

Gerry lives in Manhattan with his wife, three kids, a dog he likes and a cat he doesn’t.

Jorn F. SocquetVice President, Marketing Anheuser-Busch

Jorn Socquet is vice president of U.S. marketing for Anheuser-Busch, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev. Jorn leads U.S. marketing, responsible for guiding the marketing strategies of a broad brand portfolio that includes two of the world’s largest-selling beers, Bud Light and Budweiser. Socquet is responsible for brand management, media planning and buying, advertising production, sports marketing, multicultural marketing, digital marketing, consumer insights, and innovation in the United States and is a member of the company’s North America management committee.

Socquet has more than 15 years of experience building brands and a track record of innovation.

Prior to joining the U.S. team at Anheuser-Busch, Socquet was vice president of marketing for Labatt in Canada. During his time there, he led Budweiser to become the No. 1 beer brand in the country and accelerated the growth of Bud Light to become the third-largest beer brand in Canada. He has also brought successful campaigns and insights to Alexander Keith’s, Canada’s leading domestic specialty brand, and built a highly effective marketing team.

Prior to his role in Canada, Socquet was global director of Stella Artois, Beck’s and Hoegaarden. Among his achievements was the successful “She’s a Thing of Beauty” strategy for Stella Artois. He began his career at Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2005 as a global marketing manager of Leffe. Previously, he worked as a senior brand manager at The Coca-Cola Co., where he spent seven years in brand management.

Socquet holds a master’s degree in business administration from St. John’s University in New York, a bachelor’s degree from VLEKHO Business School in Belgium and completed the INSEAD Executive Program. A native Dutch speaker, he is fluent in both English and French.